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Neal Caffrey
|lastappearance= |seasons= 1, 2 |count= |images=Neal Caffrey }} Neal Caffrey is a con man and the main character of White Collar. Character Profile Charming, sexy and sophisticated, Neal Caffrey is one of the world's greatest con artists. Caffrey was an elusive criminal, and a three year chase by FBI agent Peter Burke resulted in Caffrey's capture. Extremely crafty and cunning, Caffrey was only convicted of Bond Forgery, one of the many crimes he was suspected of. With only three months left on his prison sentence, Neal escapes after a visit from his girlfriend, Kate Moreau Learning she has disappeared, Neal searches for her. While he tries to find her, he is recaptured by Burke. To avoid going back to prison, Neal makes a deal with Burke to help him find the criminal Burke is hunting. After successfully apprehending the criminal, Neal avoids returning to prison by becoming a consultant to the FBI. Neal is known for his charm and it proves to work for his advantage in many instances. When Neal is released from prison to work with the FBI, he is given a seedy motel room the FBI rented for him. Agent Burke explains Neal's monthly budget is $700, hence the less than desirable living conditions. The day after his first night in the motel Neal, while browsing in a thrift store, befriends a widow named June who was donating her late husband's couturier suits. Neal is taken on as a boarder in the rich widow's townhouse. He acquires not only a more than comfortable residence but also a new wardrobe of expensive suits, shoes, and hats which become a signature look. In the episode 'Forging Bonds', it is revealed that Neal began his career as a con-man when he met Mozzie, targeting a CEO named Vincent Adler. It was with Adler that Neal first encountered a fractal, as well as Alexandra Hunter and his long-time girlfriend Kate, for whom he sacrificed the con-job for. Adler eventually disappeared, taking hundreds of millions in US dollars and leaving all of his employees jobless and without pay. Broke and unemployed, Neal chose to tell Kate about his true profession. After this, Neal, Kate, and Mozzie began running scams together, until one day Neal tries to cajole Kate into leaving for Europe. When Neal mentions Copenhagen to her, Kate gets upset and reveals that she knows about the music box job that Alex told him about. She accused him of trying to con her and stayed in New York when Neal left for Copenhagen. Unfortunately, the job failed without her, forcing Neal to leave Alex in a French hospital (where she was presumably arrested) and escape back to New York. Upon his return, Neal discovers that Kate is hiding from him and eventually starts doing bigger cons and forgeries, trying to catch her attention. The FBI eventually track her down and realize that he has no idea where Kate is, so they set up a trap for him to find her, where they finally catch him. In the episode 'What Happens In Burma,' Neal mentions that his father died when he was two years old. His mother told him that his father "went out in a hail of gunfire taking out a whole gang of bad guys," and Neal grew up wanting to be just like him. It was in this period that he "got really good with guns." However, at the end of the episode, Neal finally admits to Peter that his dad was a dirty cop, and that his mother only told him what children would want to hear about their fathers. It is implied that the learning the truth about his father was what started Neal down the criminal path. Little else is known about Neal's past, other than the fact he didn't finish high school. His extensive knowledge of art and history is apparently self-taught. Relationships Mozzie Mozzie is Neal's ally and confidant. At the end of Season 1, Neal and Moz say goodbye and part ways. However, in season 2 of the series, in the episode, "Withdrawl" Mozzie is re-introduced and their relationship is continued on the investigation of Kate's murder. Kate Moreau Kate is Neal's love interest and partner in the Mentor program mentioned at the end of Season 1. Kate and Neal's first date was when they conned their way into a rich guys hotel room. They ordered the most expensive things they could find on the menu, including five $1000 hamburgers. From the window there was a broken down bridge, and from the angle and the way the sun hit it, it was beautiful. They never wanted to leave the room. Neal immortalises this image in a pencil sketch in a hotel room behind another painting. Alexandra Hunter Alex is a high-end fence and an old lover and ally of Neal's. According to records that the FBI has on her, she has 'powerful friends', and has only been arrested once--in France. Towards the end of the first season Alex was given a plane ticket to Italy by the FBI, having helped Neal recover the elusive music box from the Italian consulate in Manhattan, because there was a 'target on her back'. During the episode 'Copycat Caffrey' she asks Neal for his help. She has been fencing gold Krugerrands in an effort to stay under the radar, but is about to be set up by one of Mozzie's contacts who is selling her out to the people who are hunting for Neal. After helping the FBI to recover a stolen painting and a case full of Krugerrands, Peter presents her with a ticket to Italy and she leaves the country, but not for long. Early in the second season Alex returns to New York and helps Neal steal the music box again--this time from Diana's personal safe, although his method to contact her involves forging an FBI case file and a clandestine meeting on a rooftop. He makes a comment that he doesn't have her phone number, and that it would be easier to contact her 'like a normal person' if she gave it to him. After Alex anonymously donates the music box to the Russians - its' rightful owners - she meets Neal at his apartment and finally gives him her number before leaving. Later, it is revealed that Neal met Alex while he worked for Vince Adler. He singled her out and set her up in a meeting with Adler, where she was scared away. Alex later approached Neal, where he informed her that he 'would not apologize' for his actions, and that it was his job to catch her and her job to 'not get caught.' Alex then asks him out for drinks, where they eventually end up in Neal's bed. Afterwards, she tells him about the music box that Vince Adler wants, informing Neal that it was 'worth about as much' as the Holy Grail. After some time, Neal contacts her to do the music box job, but it ultimately fails and Neal is forced to leave Alex in a French hospital while he returned to New York. Peter Burke Peter is an FBI agent who takes on Neal as a consultant after capturing him again for breaking out of prison to find Kate. Throughout their work together, they have developed a complicated friendship, and in the episode "Vital Signs" Neal confesses to Peter (While under the influence of a drug administered to him by one of the criminals they're searching for.) that's he's the only one Neal can trust. See Also thumb|200px|right|Neal and Kate *Neal's Wardrobe Category:Main Characters